A Vampire's Final Fantasy
by ParadigmShifter
Summary: BuffyFinal Fantasy 8 Crossover. When Acathla closes, a different person gets pulled in. Fortunately, it doesn't lead to Hell, but somewhere... else... Chapter 5 Up!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Joss, WB, UPN, M.E, and various other corporations own Buffy. They can keep 'em, too. Final Fantasy is owned by Square and their subsidiaries. Although I wish I owned the rights to those games, it's never gonna happen…

Title: Vampire's Final Fantasy

Author: Paradigm Shifter

Rating: R. What, you expect me to write something that isn't?

Feedback: Much appreciated, and craved.

Crossover: Final Fantasy/Buffy the Vampire Layer

Continuity: Buffy: Seasons 1 & 2, up to the end of Becoming. Final Fantasy: VIII, but the game hasn't been truly started yet. Set in the universe, but the time has not yet arrived…

Thanks/Shout-outs: Teri, Mutant, VegaKeep, Enterprise1701D. [waves] Hi, guys! (And gal)

Notes: I'm going slowly insane… my writing time goes down, so what do I do? I start a new fic. Jeez.

*

Buffy stopped as she heard a noise in the bushes, and turned toward it. "Come out, I know you're there!"

Xander appeared slowly from the bushes, brandishing a fist sized rock in one hand, and a cast on the other. "The Cavalry's here, Buff…" he grinned deprecatingly, "the cavalry's a scared guy with a rock, but it's here."

Buffy sighed with relief. "Oh, thank God, Xand…" she moved away. "I've… I've got to…"

Xander nodded. "Yeah. Willow gave me a message for you…" he seemed to pause, as if debating with himself internally. "She asked me to tell you that she's trying the spell again…"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he had made the wrong choice.

Buffy smiled with relief, and nodded gratefully. Her eyes had unclouded, and she seemed happier than she had for weeks. She lunged forward, and hugged Xander around the waist. "Thank you, Xander."

Xander tried to undo some of the damage he knew he had done with the truth, pulling back out of her embrace and looking into her eyes. "Buffy, he needs to be stopped… if he opens Acathla…"

Buffy's expression turned ugly for a second, and she pulled back further in anger, before becoming neutral. Sparks of hope still shined in her eyes. "If Willow's spell works, I wont have to."

As Buffy walked into the Mansion, Xander shook his head. "Will it be in time?" he whispered, "is it already too late?"

*

Acathla's mouth ground open slowly, as the vortex into hell formed. Angelus grinned as his plans; the many months of preparation for this date came to fruition.

"Beautiful…" he hissed.

Spike, on the other hand, was less than impressed. "What, you expect a bloody great rock to do all our work for us? Yank the other, Angie, it's got bells on."

Angelus turned to the wheelchair bound William the Bloody, and for a moment was tempted by the thought of violence, or of throwing Spike into Acathla, to be the first to welcome the new order. Instead, he smiled, and Spike rolled his chair back unconsciously in fear. "I wont have to, Spike. Buffy will do all my work for me…" he turned at a sound from across the room.

Buffy was making her way slowly across the grand hall of the mansion, her eyes fixed on Angel.

Angelus grinned. "And here she is now… right on time."

Buffy cast a quick look at the seated vampire who had rolled back behind Angelus, and blinked as he nodded slightly. Angelus stepped forward further, intent on bringing the reign of humans on the earth to a grinding halt.

"Hello, Lover. I said I'd call… did ya get bored without me?"

Buffy stood mute, staring at the soulless form of her true love. _Keep him talking; talking… if he's busy with me, he can't open Acathla. Willow is trying the soul spell again… I hope it works, because I can't, I can't kill him!_

Buffy unsheathed a short sword, and tested its weight in her hand. From nowhere, Angelus found a mirror of her blade.

The battle was joined…

*

Xander crept along the edges of the mansion, looking for a way in. He didn't want to follow Buffy, in case she had encountered resistance, and had fought her way through, rather than eradicating the opposition.

A voice sounded from near him. "Hey! Who are you?"

Xander stood up slowly, and turned around. A vampire, obviously a young one from his posture, was standing a few feet away. He shrugged. "I'm no one."

The vampire grinned maliciously. "No… you're a snack."

Xander stepped back as the vampire stepped forward, and held up his broken arm in a placating gesture. "Hey, hey, you don't want to eat me! Angelus wouldn't like it!"

The mention of the Master Vampire made the fledgling pause, and he looked around, worried. "You know Angelus?" It asked in awe.

Xander nodded. "Yeah, he and I go way back…" _Might as well play it by ear…_

"You want to see him?"

_It might be the only chance I get…_ he told himself, _but what about…?_ He silenced his inner voice. "Sure. It's about time I had a chat with the Old man."

The vampire nodded. "Follow me."

Xander followed the vampire into the Mansion, and through several corridors, until they reached one of the doors to the Grand Hall. Xander could here the sounds of a swordfight from behind the door, and curses from Angelus as he was blocked, but never wounded.

The vampire turned as Xander stepped behind him. "I think he's busy…"

Xander nodded. "You're right. I should hope so…" The stake plunged into the vampire's heart before he had a chance to react, and he vanished in a silent burst of ash.

"Come on, Buffy, finish it…" muttered Xander as he fought with the stuck door handle.

The door gave, to allow Xander a view of the Grand Hall, complete with duelling Vampire Master and Slayer, and…

…an open Acathla. Didn't Buffy _see_ that?

Angelus' eyes flashed, as Willow's spell succeeded, and he sank to his knees, just as Buffy rose to strike. She faltered.

"Angel?" she asked in a small voice.

"Buffy?" Angel asked, "what's… what's happened?"

Buffy fell to her knees as well, and embraced her lover returned to her. "Shh… it's alright, Angel… it's alright…"

Xander stared in horror as Acathla's portal continued to open. "Buffy!" he screamed, "Acathla!"

Buffy looked up from her lovers embrace, and her eyes widened in fear. "Angel?"

Angel hung his head, fear and disgust in himself flowing of him in waves. "I… I've got to go… my blood opened it… my blood closes it…" He stood slowly, and made his way toward the vortex. The event horizon lapped eagerly at the world it was trying to consume.

Xander had reached him. "This is all your fault!" He hit Angel in the face, who did nothing to fight back. Guilt is a truly terrible thing. Buffy, however, did not take Xander's perceived attack of her boyfriend well at all.

"He's Angel again, Xander! Why can't you just be happy for me?!"

Xander looked at her sadly. "Because if you got horizontal with him once, it'll happen again, even if you don't mean to."

Buffy's eyes widened in shock and rage at Xander's betrayal. "You BASTARD!" Buffy screamed, slugging Xander as hard as she could.

Right toward Acathla.

Xander grabbed vainly for anything that would stop his fall backwards, and got a handful of Angel's shirt, which tore in his grip.

Buffy and Angel both watched, horrified, as Xander fell into Acathla's vortex. Buffy rushed forward, trying to save him, but Xander twisted out of her grasp as she moved toward him.

As Xander vanished, the vortex closed with an audible inrush of air. Buffy slid along the floor of the Grand Hall, and halted suddenly when she reached the now silent and closed Acathla.

Angel stood, looking at his torn shirt. "It… it had my blood on it…"

He looked at Buffy, who was crying against the statue, and saw only the final moments of Xander as he fell into the thing Angelus had opened.

Mouthed words that Angel was sure that Buffy had not seen echoed in his mind. Xander's final instruction to his greatest foe.

"Prove me wrong."

*


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Joss, WB, UPN, M.E, and various other corporations own Buffy. They can keep 'em, too. Final Fantasy is owned by Square and their subsidiaries. Although I wish I owned the rights to those games, it's never gonna happen…

Title: Vampire's Final Fantasy

Author: Paradigm Shifter

Rating: R. What, you expect me to write something that isn't?

Feedback: Much appreciated, and craved.

Crossover: Final Fantasy/Buffy the Vampire Layer

Continuity: Buffy: Seasons 1 & 2, up to the end of Becoming. Final Fantasy: VIII, but the game hasn't been truly started yet. Set in the universe, but the time has not yet arrived… (it's starts when Squall and the others are around 8 years old.)

Notes: I'm going slowly insane… my writing time goes down, so what do I do? I start a new fic. Jeez.

*

Edea walked slowly though the flower fields near the Cape of Good Hope, Centra. The raven-haired woman was searching for her youngest charge for the seventh time in as many days. Squall had this habit of wondering off by himself, and it had gotten worse since the day his 'sis' had left.

"Squall!" Edea called, "Squall?"

A flash of movement caught her attention, and she turned to see a Death Claw, a horribly mutated relative of the grizzly bear standing over her charge and roaring in challenge.

Squall, for his part, stood his ground, and refused to back down to a monster that could have torn him apart in seconds. "Get back! Go away!" he shouted with childish determination.

Edea watched in shock and horror as the monster ignored the boy, and batted him aside as if he was nothing. "No!" she screamed, rushing forward, but knowing that if the monster chose, it would be far, far too late when she got there.

Squall struggled to his feet, and Edea's eyes widened as she saw the boy stumble back into to the same place he had been standing before… between the Death Claw and the unconscious form of another child, but one much older than Squall, at least twice his age. The long grass had hidden the body from her view when she was further away.

Edea summoned power she swore never to use except in defence of another, and raised her hand, feeling the cold of magical ice chill her digits before launching the strike against the monster.

The enchanted ice pierced the beast's hide, and skewered it. Squall watched in tormented fascination as the Death Claw collapsed in front of him, flinching away as one of the monsters razor sharp claws cut through the ground to the right of him.

He turned away, his near death momentarily forgotten as concern for the person he found took precedence once again. Edea reached his side seconds later, and looked with worry at her wayward charge.

"What do you think you're doing, Squall, so far from the Orphanage?" Edea tried to sound angry, but she merely sounded relieved.

Squall turned to her, and pointed at the unconscious body. "He's hurt… we need to get him inside, before more bad things come."

Edea nodded, and motioned with her hand, raising the limp form into the air. She nodded to Squall, who ran off ahead to warn the orphanage that they were going to have a visitor…

*

Squall rushed through the door of the orphanage, and ran straight into Seifer.

"Watch where you're goin' pipsqueak!" Seifer shouted and pushed him away.

Squall collided with the wall, and slid down it, before getting up from the floor. "I don't have time for this, Seifer."

Seifer put his hands on his hips. "Oh, so the great Squall doesn't have time for the rest of us puny mortals, is that it?" he leaned forward with a sneer, "huh?"

Squall controlled his temper. Getting into a fight with Seifer now would only be counter-productive, and end up causing Matron a great deal of grief when one or the other got hurt. "Seifer, I don't have time to fight with you now… I found someone outside; unconscious… he looks hurt. Matrons bringing him in."

"Oh, so now were a charity?" asked Seifer with a sneer. "Who knows, next it'll be we're wonderin' round, curing all the monsters we used to beat up!"

Edea's firm voice cut off Squall's reply. "Seifer. We _are_ a charity. Or would you rather live life on the streets, having to do far worse than you think is possible to survive?"

Seifer's head whipped round, and he stammered as he saw matron standing there in the doorway. "I… I… I didn't know that you were there, Matron."

Edea shook her head. "No, you wouldn't." she waved him away, but signalled that Squall should stay. "Go and play with the others, Seifer, but _don't_ make Selphie cry this time…"

Seifer hung his head. "Yes, matron."

Squall watched Seifer walk away with ambivalence in his heart. He hated Seifer for his actions, but couldn't bring himself to hate the person underneath. It was just that Seifer was a romantic… a romantic from another age. He believed in the tales of the Sorceresses from anther time, another place in the world… another paradigm, although he would not understand the word if it was told to him.

Edea motioned for the boy to float over the bed, and he did so. Then she lowered the unconscious form. "I need to ask you something, Squall… where did this boy come from?"

Squall shook his head, and shrugged. "I don't know, Matron. I was sitting in the grass, watching the birds in the sky, and there was this thump, a little way away. I went to investigate, and there he was… sleeping in the grass."

"Then where did the Death Claw come from?" Edea asked.

Squall shook his head. "I don't know that either, Matron. It just came."

Edea sat on the chair next to the bed. "Hmm…" she mused quietly to herself. "It is unusual for a Death Claw to come at the scent of anything other than blood… was he bleeding?"

"Not that I could see, matron, but I suppose he could have been… inside."

Edea shook her head. "No. It would have to be carried by the air… and that isn't. I don't understand…"

Squall looked guiltily at his feet for a second, before reaching into his pocket. "There was this, matron." He held out a scrap of a shirt, bloodied and torn.

Edea took it from him, but frowned as she did so. "This isn't his… none of his clothes are torn…"

"No, matron." Squall agreed.

"So it must have come from someone else…" Edea sighed. "Oh well, it is a mystery he will have to solve for us when he wakes up." She stood and left the room; safe in the knowledge her Sorceress powers would alert her if anything was wrong. The boy might be a little old, but her powers allowed her to sense children around her, their feelings, their hurts and thoughts and actions.

*

Squall sat in the chair vacated by matron, and watched the unconscious body.

Griever whispered in his mind. [He will not awaken]

Squall blinked. It had been many months since the Lion Guardian Force that inhabited his ring had spoken to him. [You are sure?] He asked back.

[Certain.] Stated the GF. [Things not meant to be known, not even to the Guardians, have ravaged his mind. it will not allow him to wake while in this state.]

[What can we do?] Squall asked.

[I can wake him,] said Griever, [but it will not be easy on any of the three of us… I must junction myself to him, and attempt to heal the damage done…]

Squall shuddered. Since Griever had junctioned himself to Squall, it had become a symbiotic relationship for the two of them. Griever grew and experienced through Squall, and Squall gained knowledge, insight and protection from the ancient GF. Breaking the connection would hurt them both.

[I don't care…] said Squall. [Wake him up. I think it's important that he wakes.]

[But…] began the GF.

[No 'buts',] thought Squall. [Do it. Now.]

Squall felt the long suffering sigh and imagined two catlike eyes rolling at his stubbornness. 

[Very well] the GF said finally. [Prepare yourself.]

Squall felt his head hit the bed, next to the strangers, and blackness took him.

*


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Joss, WB, UPN, M.E, and various other corporations own Buffy. They can keep 'em, too. Final Fantasy is owned by Square and their subsidiaries. Although I wish I owned the rights to those games, it's never gonna happen…

Title: Vampire's Final Fantasy

Author: Paradigm Shifter

Rating: R. What, you expect me to write something that isn't?

Feedback: Much appreciated, and craved.

Crossover: Final Fantasy/Buffy the Vampire Layer

Continuity: Buffy: Seasons 1 & 2, up to the end of Becoming. Final Fantasy: VIII, but the game hasn't been truly started yet. Set in the universe, but the time has not yet arrived… (It starts when Squall and the others are around 8 years old.)

Notes: I'm going slowly insane… my writing time goes down, so what do I do? I start a new fic. Jeez.

QUESTION TO READERS: How do you feel about a Xander/Xu pairing later? I like her, even though she never played a large role. If you're interested in Xu as a character, read 'Sowing the SeeDs' by Greenbeans on ff.net.

*

Griever looked around the ethereal world of the Guardian Forces. The real world was displaced from this one, but still near. Griever could feel the souls of the two young men in the room, his Master, Squall as unconscious as the unknown from the fields.

[I cannot take long… or the other will become bonded too]

Griever allowed himself to enter the unconscious form, and began the process of waking him up. Junctioning could take placed once he was out of the comatose state he currently inhabited.

The body jerked as the Lion kick-started his brains higher functioning. 

Griever grinned in a feral fashion as the body moved for a second time.

[Wake up]

The body jerked again.

[Wake up]

The body groaned, and rolled slightly, meeting resistance from the completely unconscious form of the Guardian Force's young master, Squall.

[Wake up]

The body rolled the other way, and lacking obstruction, rolled right off the bed, hitting the floor with a thud.

[WAKE UP]

The young man jerked upright, his arms upraised, as if to ward off a blow. Two words burst from his lips:

"…ME WRONG!"

Griever, it's work done, retreated. The 'matron' as Squall's young mind thought of her, would not appreciate the knowledge that a GF as old as himself had junctioned to a child as young as Squall. Most considered Junctioning to be an abomination at the best of times, when a knowledgeable adult was involved. If it was found that Squall had entered into the pact without understanding what it was he was doing, the Sorceress would likely not be pleased…

Griever entered Squall once more, and woke him slumbering form up, before fading back into the recesses of his mind…

*

Edea was playing with the children outside when she felt a strange presence in her mind. Looking up, her eyes tracked to the orphanage building, before her feet began to take her there as fast as they could.

She called back to the children who watched her leave, "Don't worry, and keep playing!"

Selphie frowned at the sudden exit, but perked up when the ball came to her. "Hey, Irvy! Watch!" she dribbled the ball down the beach and laughed out loud as she neatly bypassed both Zell and Quistis.

Selphie paused, and looked up to aim better at the goal, before being roughly shoved aside by Seifer. "Thanks, titch, but let the big boys take the shots!"

Selphie overbalanced in the sand and fell over, sending up a large spray of pale yellow sand as she did so.

Seifer pulled back to take the shot he had stolen from the younger girl, and was bowled off his feet as Irvine cannoned into him. "That wasn't fair, Seifer!" Irvine shouted as he wrestled the older boy down.

Seconds later, the two were rolling around the sand, punching, kicking, biting and, in Seifer's case, pulling Irvine's ponytail.

Irvine cried out in pain as his hair was pulled, and despite the pain twisted in Seifer's grip to land an elbow in the boy's ribs. Seifer staggered back, winded, before growling at the Cowboy wannabe. "You're gonna pay for that, girlyboy."

Irvine stood his ground, but threw a quick glance at Selphie to see if she was alright. "That may be true…" he drawled in a fake cowboy accent, "but you gotta ask yourself two questions: one, is it worth Matron getting' angry, and two…" he paused, for effect. He always wanted to use this line. "Do you feel lucky?" he mock snarled, "well? Do ya? Punk?"

"Stop this immediately!" Quistis exclaimed. "What do the two of you think you're doing?!"

Irvine turned to the blonde girl. Seifer shot daggers at her for interrupting his fight. "Don't be so bossy, Quisty." Seifer spat. "Bossy Quisty! Bossy Quisty!"

None of the other children took up the chant, and Seifer trailed off. "Fine! But when I get my dream, you'll all be sorry you sided against me!"

He stalked off down the beach, toward the lighthouse.

Irvine strolled over to where Selphie was still laying in the sand, watching the whole furore. "Ya'll OK, ma'am?" he drawled.

Selphie giggled. "Yes, Irvy, thank you. I'm fine now." She hopped to her feet, and giggled again before planting a kiss on Irvine's cheek and running away playfully.

Irvine simply stood there, holding his cheek stupidly.

Quistis frowned, and looked along the beach to where Seifer had disappeared. "Shouldn't we go after him? Or tell matron where he's gone? We aren't allowed near the lighthouse…"

Zell shook his head. "Nah…" he said slowly, "he gets what he deserves, but he doesn't deserve to get Matron angry at him… no blood, no report, right Irvine?"

"Huh? Wha?" Irvine asked, hearing his name.

Zell rolled his eyes. "I said, 'no blood, no report', right?"

Irvine nodded dumbly. "Oh… yeah, right…"

Zell laughed, and began to punch the air in his favourite shadowboxing routine. He grinned as he chanted, "Irvine's in lo-ove, Irvine's in lo-ove…"

"Shut up!" snapped Irvine, who managed to pull his cowboy hat down before his blushed too much.

"Aha!" exclaimed Zell, and using a line from one of the older stories that Matron had started telling them, crowed; "methinks he doth protest too much!"

Irvine blushed redder and stalked off after Selphie.

Zell sidled up to Quistis. "So… Quisty… doing anything later?"

Quistis laughed. Zell's crush on her was so obvious. "I think we're a little young for that, yet Zell…"

"I am not!" Zell shouted, before quieting. "OK, I guess I am…"

Quistis patted him on the shoulder and smiled. "I know you mean well." With that, she walked off too.

Zell sat heavily on the sand, looking out to sea dejectedly. "Huh. Why can't I be like Squall… not caring about anyone other than Sis…" He shook his head. "No… I want to live… not be the hermit, searching for something that will never happen…"

Zell sighed, and picking up a flat stone, threw it half-heartedly at the ocean. It skipped five times, before finally gravity got the better of it and it sank. Zell blinked, and looked at his hand, before looking back out to where the stone had vanished. 

He breathed one word to himself. "Wow…"

He did a little dance. "Yeah! I'm the man!"

*

Edea stepped into the room to see two things. 

First, the boy that had earlier been unconscious was sitting on the floor with a terrified look on his face, with his hands raised, as if to ward off a blow of some kind.

Secondly, Squall was laying half on, and half off the bed that the visitor had been on, his eyes wide and hurt.

"Squall?" Edea asked, before rushing forward to see if he was alright. As she reached his side, Squall shifted, and his eyes softened. He breathed out, and pushed himself up slowly. 

"Oh… remind me to never do that again, Griever…"

"Griever?" Edea said in shock.

Squall turned round, and his face fell, his mouth opening in shock. "Oh… I… I… didn't know you'd come back in, Matron…"

Edea knelt next to the boy, her face now level with his. "I felt something, Squall. So I came in to see what it was. Now I'm glad I did…" she looked over her shoulder, out of the door, "although I have a feeling that Seifer will be doing something they'll all regret, right about now…"

Edea and Squall looked over to the still rocking boy. Edea spoke first. "You know you did a very foolish thing… but I cannot fault your wish to help him."

"He needed help," Squall explained nervously, "and Grie… a friend told me he wouldn't wake up."

Edea caught the slip, but decided, against her better judgement that it was a discussion for another time.

Squall walked over to the still body of the unknown boy, and bent down to look at him. "Are you OK?"

Jerking his head up, the boy looked at him with fear.

Squall froze for a second. He wasn't threatening, was he? "I wont hurt you… I just want to find out if you're alright."

Edea stepped next to Squall. "I am Edea, I own and run this orphanage. This is Squall, one of the children who live here."

The boy swallowed. "Thank you."

Squall frowned. "For what?"

"Saving me…"

Squall smiled, and Edea remembered it as the first time he had smiled since Ellone, his 'sister', in all but blood, had left for her own safety. "It was nothing."

Edea asked gently, "Do you remember your name? Do you know where you are?"

The boy shook his head. "No… I can't… reme…"

"Reme?" Squall asked confused, looking at Edea, "Remedy?"

Edea shook her head. "No. Remember."

"Can you help, Matron? You help us when we're hurt…"

Edea shook her head sadly. "There are no spells that I am willing to use that would have any effect on amnesia."

"But he hasn't got ames… anmesi… amnsea…" Squall struggled over the word, "what you said." He fixed Edea with a look that told of the determination he would have when older. "He just can't remember anything!"

Edea grinned for a second, before becoming serious at Squall's scowl. "Sorry. Amnesia is the technical term for memory loss, Squall." She reached forward with one hand, and tugged the side of his mouth up with a finger. "And don't' be so quick to scowl all the time…" she smiled softly, "didn't anyone ever tell you that if the wind changed, it would stick?"

Squall shook his head in wonder. "No. Really?"

Edea nodded. "Really."

Such are the bricks that the innocence of childhood is made.

Xander, even though he could not remember who he was, felt vaguely guilty at his interruption of their lives, and more than a little wistful that they had that close bond. They acted like mother and son, but looked nothing alike. Some vague hurt deep inside him told his mind that his life had never been like that.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you," Xander said, "I'll be going now."

Edea's eyes widened as she realised he was going to leave. "Oh no you don't!" she exclaimed, "You're staying here! I didn't bring you in, just to have you eaten by the first monster that happened by!"

Squall piped up, "Besides, you don't even have a name! How can you go travelling if you don't have a name?"

The amnesiac Xander smiled at the younger boy goofily. "Y'know, your right! So…" he paused theatrically, "what do I call myself?"

Squall looked shocked for a second that someone was asking his opinion, before looking down and mumbling, "I don't know."

Edea almost jumped as a voice spoke to her in her mind. It was her Guardian Force, the mighty Alexander; defender of those unable to defend themselves.

[Call him after me.] It said.

[Why?] Edea questioned, safe in the knowledge that she would get an answer.

[It… seems right… and proper.]

"How about Alex?" she said out loud.

Xander nodded slowly. "Alex? Alexander? Yes… I like that… it feels… natural. Sort of… right. Proper."

Edea felt the amusement coming from her GF at the boy's statement.

"Very well," she nodded. "Alex, then."

Squall smiled shyly. "Hello, Alex."

"Hello, Squall." Alex smiled back. "Edea. Thank you."

"We will be happy to have you here, until you feel like going somewhere else. Hyne knows I'll be happy to have help…"

Alex nodded.

*


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Joss, WB, UPN, M.E, and various other corporations own Buffy. They can keep 'em, too. Final Fantasy is owned by Square and their subsidiaries. Although I wish I owned the rights to those games, it's never gonna happen…

Title: Vampire's Final Fantasy

Author: Paradigm Shifter

Rating: R. What, you expect me to write something that isn't?

Feedback: Much appreciated, and craved.

Crossover: Final Fantasy/Buffy the Vampire Layer

Continuity: Buffy: Seasons 1 & 2, up to the end of Becoming. Final Fantasy: VIII, but the game hasn't been truly started yet. Set in the universe, but the time has not yet arrived… (It starts when Squall and the others are around 8 years old.)

Notes: I'm going slowly insane… my writing time goes down, so what do I do? I start a new fic. Jeez.

*

{Two Weeks Later}

Edea sat down next to her newest Orphan. She felt uncertain about what she was about to do, and fear crept into her heart.

"Alex?" she asked gently, "I have to ask you something, and I would like you to answer truthfully."

Alex looked at her, and the uncertainty he felt mirrored hers. "Yes, Matron?"

"My husband runs an Academy… a Military Academy. It's based in Balamb, and is the premiere Academy in the world. He has hopes to open others in various locations… Galbadia, Trabia, even Esthar, if they will let him." She stopped. "I am sorry, my husbands… Cid's enthusiasm affected me for a minute. You seem to have great knowledge of tactics… you have saved Seifer twice in the past week. He is arrogant, but doesn't deserve to be left to the monsters that roam around here."

"You got arrogant right," muttered Alex, "the last time I pulled him out from an encounter with some Jelleyes, he cursed me for a good ten minutes before he finally realised I wasn't going to rise to it."

Edea smiled. Squall and Alex got on well; Alex seemed to be the only one other than Ellone that had ever managed to draw Squall out of his shell. Selphie and Quistis adored him, the protective older brother. Irvine and Zell were wary, as if he was going to steal their girls. Seifer hated him with a passion. But then, Seifer hated everyone with a passion, so it didn't matter so much. "Cid was here the last time you rescued Seifer… he was just going looking himself. He thinks you have great potential, Alex, but you need to tone down your recklessness. It wont do your friends any good to be rescued, if you get killed doing the rescuing."

Alex blushed. "Sorry."

"It doesn't really matter too much, now… but you cannot do things like that at an Academy. Everyone works together, but one does not throw himself away for the others."

"When would I be leaving?" Alex asked with suspicion.

"It would be soon… you're almost too old to enter, and it would be a lot of work to catch up. Fortunately, you don't seem to have forgotten everything you learned, simply who you are…" Edea played with a loose thread on her dress. "Which is still bad, but it means that you can actually remain with your age group."

"I can't leave Squall and the others." Alex stated, "and I can't let Seifer alone, he'd get in too much trouble."

"Don't worry about leaving them permanently, they will be joining you eventually; in a few years at most… and you can come back to visit during breaks."

Alex sighed. He could see he wasn't going to win. Matron thought it was a good idea, and while she wouldn't pressure him, he knew his giving in was inevitable. "OK. I'll go."

A deep voice sounded from behind him. "Good, my boy. I'm glad to have you come to Balamb Garden!"

Alex turned round to see Edea's husband, Cid, standing there with a huge grin splitting his face in two. The slightly portly man didn't look like a fighter, but then, Edea didn't look like the only remaining Sorceress alive, so in both cases; appearances proved to be deceptive.

Alex smiled. "It should be interesting, sir."

Cid's face betrayed his shock at that title. "Not sir. Never sir." He seemed to be thinking. "Headmaster will do, I think."

Alex turned back to Edea. "How am I gonna tell Squall I'm leaving?" 

Edea frowned. "He is still extremely vulnerable, emotionally. I was not aware that he had such a strong bond with Ellone… when she left; it nearly destroyed him. He seems to have transferred that bond to you…"

"You're not helping, here," pointed out Alex. "You're simply givin' me reasons to stay."

Edea sighed. "I'm not sure how to do it, but it will only be a few years at most before we send Squall to Balamb. It's…" she looked at Cid. "What we have planned for all of these children. Our children."

Cid sat down, next to Alex, sandwiching him between Edea and himself. "Ultimately, it is for the best… the time is coming, Edea, when we will need…"

Edea shot him a look. "You think I don't know that? But Alex doesn't need to know all of this. He will have enough to worry about."

Cid reached across and gripped her hand. "Don't worry. We'll survive… we'll win."

Edea smiled softly, and looked back at Alex. "Don't worry about Squall. But tell him gently. It might also be best if you do mention that he will be joining you soon… it will give him something to aim for, instead of getting in stupid fights with Seifer."

Alex sighed. "Something tells me: this isn't going to be easy…"

Cid laughed, "If there is one thing marrying a Sorceress teaches you, Alex, it is that things that are worth it rarely are!"

Alex smiled wanly at Cid's humour.

*

Giles sat in the hospital chair in Willow's room, watching the redhead with tired eyes. She had fallen back into her coma after the successful casting of the Soul Curse, and had yet to reawaken. "What happened, Buffy?"

Buffy looked to Angel. They… well; she… had decided that telling them the truth, exactly what had happened, would destroy the group dynamic. The Slayer needed her watcher, even if she didn't need friends. Angel shrugged at Buffy's look. His eyes clearly said to her; _I want to tell them the truth. It's the least they deserve._

Buffy began to speak. "Well… um… y'see… we kind of… had this little accident… yeah…"

"What sort of accident?" Giles asked patiently.

Angel spoke quietly. "I opened Acathla."

Giles looked at him, and nodded. It was pointless to get worked up, because Angel was obviously more torn up about what he had done as Angelus than Giles' could ever hope to make him by mere words. "I see. Thank you for telling me. I take it, though, that it closed again? Otherwise we would all be guests of a very hot place for the remainder of our lives…"

Angel opened his mouth, but Buffy spoke before he could. "It's closed. I made sure of that."

Angel looked at Buffy, and shook his head. "Buffy. I can't lie. Not about this."

Buffy glared at him. "Angel, shut up."

Giles fixed Angel with a piercing gaze. "Lie? About what? Acathla is still open?"

Angel felt a blood tear trickle down his cheek, and run into the corner of his mouth. He opened his mouth to speak, but Buffy again cut him off. "You say one word, Angel, and I will stake you where you stand!"

Angel turned away, showing her his back. "Then do it, Buffy. Because I will tell Giles." He turned back. "Xander vanished through the portal. He had a piece of my bloodied shirt in his hand, and 'as the Blood shall open the portal, so shall the Blood close the portal.'"

"So… Xander has gone." Giles blinked. "Is that what you are trying to say?"

"Not quite. But it will do for now. Get some rest, Giles… you'll need it later." Angel turned and walked out.

Giles looked at Buffy, disappointment in his gaze. "And why did you not want me to know that? Or did Angel not tell the whole story?"

Buffy couldn't meet her mentor's gaze. "Giles… I'm… I'm sorry. I can't do this ri… right now…"

She fled.

Giles sat back. "If not now, Buffy, then when?"

Only the dull beep of monitoring machines answered him.

*


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the long wait. My betas have reminded me that I've not posted this chapter or the next one... ;)

Disclaimer: Joss, WB, UPN, M.E, and various other corporations own Buffy. They can keep 'em, too. Final Fantasy is owned by Square and their subsidiaries. Also, a mention of the 'Sword of Truth' series by Terry Goodkind. Although I wish I owned the rights to those games, it's never going to happen…

Title: Vampire's Final Fantasy

Author: Paradigm Shifter

Rating: 15. What, you expect me to write something that isn't?

Feedback: Much appreciated, and craved.

Thanks: The usual three: Bobby Cox, Teri and Trevelyan. And Luis, for getting me to go back and start this again.

-

Alex stood nervously in the Main Hall, watching the other students that were applying for Garden standing just as nervously. Cid watched from a corner, in plain, unassuming clothes, hidden from immediate sight and watching the reactions of the potential students when they were left uncontrolled like a hawk. There was nothing in the Hall that could be damaged irreparably if someone got rowdy, so it was the first entrance exam, of a sort.

Looking around, he saw a group of children terrorising a smaller child, one that was obviously entering at the Primary level rather than the Secondary, which assumed that some lessons and skills had been learnt. Frowning, he walked over, catching the last of the comments that the apparent 'leader' was making.

"We don't need little squirts like you in SeeD, Mouse!"

The others of the group joined in with "Yeah's" and jeered at the younger child.

Alex stopped behind the leader. "I don't think that's really necessary, do you? After all, she'll be entering far lower in the course than you... you'll hardly ever see her."

"What's it to you?" the leader asked belligerently.

Alex stepped round him, neatly positioning himself between the gang and the younger girl. "If one person's unhappy here, it'll throw off the whole Garden."

"That's that whole point innit?" the leader crowed, "We don't want her here!"

A voice that held Eastern promise whispered over to Alex from behind the group. "What you want is immaterial. You will leave that child alone."

The new attack caused the group to turn again. "Yeah? And who's gonna make us? You?"

"If I have to." Alex still couldn't see who was talking. Deciding to let whoever it was handle it, since they seemed to know what they were doing, he turned to the girl.

"You OK?" Alex asked gently.

The girl nodded.

"What's your name?"

The girl seemed to hunch in on herself. "..." She said.

"What was that?" Alex asked quietly. "I didn't hear you."

"Mouse." She replied, voice barely above a breath.

"Is that your real name? Or one that they" he indicated over his shoulder, "gave you?"

"Them."

"OK. So they gave you that name. That wasn't very nice, was it?"

"'S true." Mouse whispered.

"It's not." Alex denied softly. "What's your real name?"

Mouse shrugged. "Don't know."

"You don't know your name?"

Mouse shook her head.

"So... how were you going to register?"

"...gonna register as 'Mouse'."

"Why don't you have a name?"

Mouse looked scared. "Orphan," she blurted.

"That's no reason not to have a name..." Alex said.

Mouse just shrugged again.

A gasp from the crowd drew Alex's attention away from her. He turned to see the gang leader drawing a knife from his jacket, to attack the girl. He started forward, but a firm hand gripped his arm. He turned, ready to argue, and saw Cid holding his arm. "No, don't interfere."

Alex bristled. "But I started this... its got way out of hand! She could get hurt!"

Cid did not let go. "She knew what she was doing. And she knows what she is doing now."

Cid let go of Alex's arm, confident that Alex would do as he wished, and the two watched the display...

-

"What you want is immaterial. You will leave that child alone." Xu stood behind the group, hands on her hips and a calm but dangerous look on her face.

The new attack caused the group to turn again. "Yeah? And who's gonna make us? You?"

"If I have to." Xu said with certainty.

The leader looked at the rest of the group, and then looked Xu up and down, his eyes fixing on two locations for longer than was polite. "Well, you've got guts, for a girl. Tell you what, after I've roughed you up a bit, I'll stop the boys from having a go too."

"I don't think so."

The punch from the leader came out of nowhere. Xu parried it away with a smooth move of her arm, and stepped backwards, away from him.

Xu frowned. "I don't want to hurt you."

A snarl was her reply. "Oh, you wont be the one doing the hurting, girl. Once I get through with you, you'll beg to be put out of your misery!"

With his next move, it was obvious what he intended to do. Grapple his opponent to the floor where his superior weight and height would give him a serious advantage, and minimise the bonus she got from her agility. Arms spread wide, like a bulls horns, and bellowing loud enough to distract the rest of the hall, he charged.

Cid began to drift in the direction of the disturbance, but at the questioning look of one of the SeeDs that stood guard around the hall, gave a curt shake of his head. He wanted to see what was going to play out from this situation.

Xu ducked under the charge, and spun, her leg catching both of her opponents as he went past, and turned his charge into a sprawl on the floor.

This was fuel for the rest of the gang to spread out to surround Xu. Cid met the eyes of the nearest SeeD and gave him a hard look, followed by tilting his head at the spreading group. The SeeD nodded and looked to the other SeeDs around the room. In a second, they were moving as a group, converging on the fight.

The others in the hall breathed a sigh of relief that SeeD was going to put an end to the fight, but were shocked when the SeeDs simply stopped behind each of the gang. A hand rested on a shoulder, and as the gang looked round questioningly, the SeeDs merely shook their heads.

"No." one of the SeeDs said simply as his charge began to open his mouth.

Xu stood in the middle of a sea of calm; still, motionless. The leader of the gang was even now rising to his feet, ready to continue.

Xu stood down, "I don't want to hurt you. Really."

Leader didn't take the hint, and reached inside his jacket for a flick knife. "You got lucky, bitch... let's see how lucky you are now."

Xu realised that this had gone far beyond a simple scuffle. With his standing with his fellows jeopardised, the boy was now going to attempt great harm. This step up in the fight meant that Xu could no longer pull that last little bit away from her punches, not allowing them to hurt as much as they should. If she won, he would be unconscious. If he won, she would be dead.

She remained motionless, watching the roundabout route he wove around her; wary of her abilities even now he had a weapon.

Suddenly, he charged.

Xu stepped sideways, bringing an arm up to the side he was heading toward as she did so, and caught his elbow. Pressing her thumb hard into the joint, she watched dispassionately as the knife dropped from now completely numb fingers.

He got to his feet slowly, his arm limp as his side, and charged again. Xu simply sidestepped once more.

"Stay still, bitch!" Leader snarled.

Xu shook her head. "I don't think so. Before it was one thing... but you have taken this entirely too far."

Leader seemed to choke on his tongue. "I've taken! I'VE TAKEN? I'll show you who's taken..."

He charged again.

Xu grabbed an arm as he went past, and spun him round like a hammer thrower. She let him go after a two turns, and he became airborne, before landing painfully on the marble floor of the Hall.

Next to his knife.

Xu's eyes didn't show any emotion as he shook his head and reached groggily for the switchblade that was inches from his fingers. If anything, more emotion drained from them.

The next twenty seconds would be engraved on Xander's memory until the day he died.

Finally realising that he stood no chance in close, Leader backed off. The next thing Xander saw was Xu catch the thrown knife, and send it right back at the thrower. It thudded meatily into the thug's shoulder, and he squealed as he sank backwards onto the marble.

Xu turned away, the frightened stares of the spectators not bothering her at all. She was here to become a SeeD, not to be liked.

She blinked the tension away, and the next thing she knew, there were three people standing in front of her.

- 


End file.
